For the ITC and Wood Courthouse, the next designation would be that of State Archeological Landmark. If those structures ever gained such status, an antiquities permit from the Texas Historical Commission would be required before any alterations, including demolition, could be done.

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At the local level, any changes to structures inside HemisFair Park must be reviewed by the city's historic board because the park is considered a historic district.

And that brings up a fascinating paradox: the city's own laws and procedures for protecting historic buildings versus its desire to see them demolished for residential development.

Andres Andujar, president and CEO of the HemisFair Park Area Redevelopment Corp., said the plan did not call for the absolute demolition of those buildings. But a look at the master plan, approved by City Council in February, shows the ITC and courthouse removed from a map of HemisFair and replaced with the words “Neighborhood Mixed Use.”

“I can do (neighborhood mixed use) with or without the ITC, or with or without the federal courthouse building,” Andujar said. “It's not a statement of demolition, it's a statement of use.”

The city has proposed to the University of Texas System a land swap to gain control of the ITC. The U.S. government has agreed to deed the courthouse, and the adjacent Spear Judicial Training Center, to the city contingent on the construction of a new federal courthouse on the site of the current police headquarters.

Dizzy yet?

All about Tuesdays

The immensely popular Movies by Moonlight series at HemisFair Park is moving from Thursday nights to Tuesdays to coincide with the city's free parking program.

The movies are still being selected, but the series is scheduled to run June through August.

B-cycle expanding

Cindi Snell, executive director of B-cycle, said there are plans to expand the program to 30 stations and 300 bikes by year's end. After its latest expansion in mid-April, the program currently boasts 23 stations and 230 bikes.

The next big expansion could be around the Dignowity Hill neighborhood and the future Westside Multimodal Center at Medina and Houston streets.

Food trucks arrive

The city's food truck pilot program launched Monday. A handful of trucks have signed up and operate 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday at HemisFair Park and at the parking lot just south of City Hall.

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